Leaves of Life Part 3

Be ye all like-minded, compa.s.sionate, loving as brethren, tender-hearted, humble-minded: not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing.

--1 Peter 3. 8, 9.

G.o.d of justice, may I pause to remember that while I may do a mean act and keep it hidden from others, I cannot keep it hidden from myself, nor from thee. Help me to have a n.o.bler sense of the quality of life, and less anxiety for the quant.i.ty, that I may avoid harshness and selfishness, and be given to tenderness and justice. Amen.

JANUARY ELEVENTH

Alexander Hamilton born 1757.

Bayard Taylor born 1825.

William James born 1842.

Alice Caldwell Regan Rice born 1870.

The paternal relation to man was the basis of that religion which appealed directly to the heart; so the fraternity of each man with his fellow was its practical application.

--Bayard Taylor.

It is indeed a remarkable fact that sufferings and hardships do not, as a rule, abate the love of life; they seem on the contrary, usually to give it a keener zest; and the sovereign source of melancholy is repletion. Need and struggle are what excite and inspire. Our hour of triumph is what brings the void.

--William James.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him.

--James 1. 12.

Lord G.o.d, I come to thee for help that the small things may not force themselves into my life, and keep me from pursuing the larger things which are continually open to me. May I not be blind to what I may have and be, through inspiration and work. Grant that I may not be satisfied to remain in that in which I have triumphed, but climb to greater endeavors. Amen.

JANUARY TWELFTH

Edmund Burke born 1729.

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi born 1746.

Francois Coppee born 1842.

John S. Sargent born 1856.

Show the thing you contend for to be reason; show it to be common sense; show it to be the means of attaining some useful end. The question with me is not whether you have a right to render your people miserable, but whether it is your interest to make them happy.

--Edmund Burke.

Like the star That shines afar, Without haste And without rest, Let each man wheel with steady sway Round the task that rules the day, And do his best.

--Goethe.

Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.

--1 Corinthians 13. 4.

Gracious Father, cause me to be critical of my life, that I may not be deceived in myself. Help me to look into my soul and see what thou dost find there; and with humility may I acknowledge what I am to thee, and seek thy wisdom and love. Amen.

JANUARY THIRTEENTH

George Fox, founder Society of Friends, died 1691.

Samuel Woodworth (Old Oaken Bucket) born 1785.

Order of King's Daughters founded 1886.

Have thy soul feel the universal breath With which all nature's quick, and learn to be Sharer in all that thou dost touch or see; Break from thy body's grasp thy spirit's trance; Give thy soul air, thy faculties expanse; Love, joy, even sorrow,--yield thyself to all!

They make thy freedom, groveling, not thy thrall.

Knock off the shackles which thy spirit bind To dust and sense, and set at large the mind!

Then move in sympathy with G.o.d's great whole, And be like man at first, a _Living Soul_.

--Richard Henry Dana.

I was deeply impressed by what a gardener once said to me concerning his work. "I feel, sir," he said, "when I am growing the flowers or rearing the vegetables, that I am having a share in creation." I thought it a very n.o.ble way of regarding his work.

--J.H. Jowett.

For we are G.o.d's fellow workers: ye are G.o.d's husbandry, G.o.d's building.

--1 Corinthians 3. 9.

Creator of all, help me to see what there is for me to do; and help me to know that I cannot be productive if I am hovering in the choice of my work. May I learn from thy great works of heaven and earth the ways of selection and steadfastness. Give me the desire to work and the confidence that is needed to carry on my work. Amen.

JANUARY FOURTEENTH

Madame de Sevigne died 1696.

Edmund Halley died 1742.

Pierre Loti born 1850.

Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute What you can do, or dream you can; begin it; Boldness has genius, power magic in it.